House of Lords
Parliament

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The last question comes from Lord Bishop of St Albans on what action the government plans to take to deal with levels of air pollution in cities.

Government spokesman Lord Gardiner of Kimble says the government will produce new plans on tackling pollution from nitrogen dioxide in April as well as implementing clean air zones. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Baroness Randerson asks how the government will ensure that more safety features are added to lorries.

Lord Ahmad replies that since July of last year new lorries are equipped with safety mirrors giving the driver a better view of the roads. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow home office minister Carolyn Harris says the Opposition supports the idea of strengthening Suspicious Activity Reports, which will loosen restrictions on the HMRC to act on suspicious financial activity. 

However, she claims that budget cuts have "decimated" HMRC; saying it is set to lose 147 of its offices by 2027. She accuses the government of giving "the impression they are doing something," but will be unable to actually meet expectations. 

She asks for an annual report detailing what resources are given in tackling suspicious financial activity. 

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour's Lord Young of Norwood Green uses his question to ask what plans the government has to encourage more women to cycle.

Transport Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon says the government has committed £300m for cycling initiatives over five years including programmes to encourage more women to cycle. 

Lord Young expresses concern that people may be put off by reports of cyclist deaths in London. 

Select Committee
Parliament

The Health Committee is taking evidence on the effect of Brexit on health and social care.

First up, the committee is hearing from:

• Professor Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Joseph Meirion Thomas, former surgeon and health campaigner
• Professor Jean McHale, Professor of Health Care Law, University of Birmingham
• Christopher Chantery, British national resident in France

House of Lords
Parliament

Crossbench peer Lord Harries of Pentregarth now asks if the government has made representations to the Indonesian government about human rights abuses in West Papua.

Foreign Office Minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns replies that concerns are raised on a regular basis. 

Lord Harries says violations have "massively" increased in recent years and that free and fair access to the press is being blocked.

Baroness Anelay says the situation has improved "significantly since 1990s".

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative Baroness Jenkin asks if the UK will help to mitigate the impact of US's new policy.

The Netherlands is setting up an international fund to support abortion services hit by the cut in US foreign aid.  

We have to remain calm, says Lord Bates, adding that the gag rule has been implemented before.

He notes that the US is the largest aid donor and that it would be best to work with them.

House of Lords
Parliament

The Lords are back - and they start with a question from Lib Dem Baroness Barker on the US government reinstating the global gag rule.

The gag rule prevents overseas organisations from receiving US aid if they offer information on or provide abortion.

International Development Minister Lord Bates replies that the UK government is committed to evidence based polices on reproductive rights including providing safe abortions.

House of Commons
Parliament

The House agrees to the government amendment allowing the freezing of the assets of people implicated in human rights abuse abroad.

MPs are now considering a series of amendments strengthening the system of Suspicious Activity Reports, the way financial institutions flag up potential instances of money laundering or fraud to the authorities to allow investigation.

House of Commons
Parliament

A number of contributors to today's debate have referred to the case of Sergei Magnitsky, and the United States' Magnitsky Act. 

Sergei Magnitsky was an auditor who uncovered what he said was a massive tax fraud by Russian officials. After reporting it to the authorities he was arrested, and died in custody in November 2009 at the age of 37. The official cause of death was heart failure, but another investigation said he had been severely beaten. A full investigation into the death was eventually dropped by Russian authorities who currently insist that he died of natural causes.

The case caused outrage around the world, and led to the US Congress passing the Magnitsky Act in 2012, which allowed the US to withhold visas and freeze assets of Russian officials thought to have been involved in human rights violations. Today's government amendment would approximate some of the measures in the US Magnitsky Act, allowing the freezing of assets of people implicated in human rights abuse abroad.

House of Lords
Parliament

The House of Lords now adjourns for half an hour.

Peers will return at 2:30pm for 30 mins of oral questions before returning to debate of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill.

Topics for today's oral questions include funding abortions, human rights abuses in West Papua, encouraging women to cycle and air pollution. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Former First Minister of Northern Ireland and Conservative peer Lord Trimble wants Article 50 to be triggered "as soon as possible".

He also wants the Great Repeal Bill introduced as quickly.

He predicts that there will be "a lot more meat" on that bill than the one currently being debated.

He adds that proposed amendments to this bill would be better added to the Great Repeal Bill. 

The Bank of England's chief economist admits "sizeable" forecasting errors have been made in the past.

House of Lords
Parliament

Former government minister Lord O'Neill of Gatley makes four points.

He says the decision to hold a referendum was driven by politics and "not a great deal of thought" was given to economic implications.

He argues that productivity, weakness in the education system and the unbalanced nature of the British economy are as important challenges as Brexit.

He says that Brexit may make these challenges harder to tackle or may force the government to pay greater attention to such problems - "one lives in hope".

On trade, he calls for the UK to improve its relationships with China and India. Trade with New Zealand may be easier he says but it won't "be materially relevant". 

Lastly, he urges the government to ensure that an "obsession with immigration" doesn't result in losing key talent.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Home Office minister Rupa Huq announces that the Opposition will not block the bill or the amendments put forward by the government. 

She says that "those who have blood on their hands through the worst human right abuses should to not be able to funnel their money through our country."

She says that Britain has been guilty of holding money of human rights violators, but that the bill would help tackle it.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Morris of Handsworth focuses on the government's reluctance to guarantee the residence rights of EU nationals. 

It is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot, he says.

Who are the workers that the government thinks we can do without and treat with such derision? he asks.

He tells peers that 50,000 NHS workers come from the EU.

House of Commons
Parliament

Home Officer Minister Ben Wallace defends a new government clause, which reasserts the courts' right to judge the 'balance of probabilities' that proceeds are the profits of crime, or will be used to commit further crime.

The clause has been lauded as a way to ensure funds of individuals linked to human rights abuses abroad can be seized. Conservative Dominic Raab says it will stop the flow of funds of "butchers and despots". 

However, Ben Wallace claims, it will also allow the courts to remain impartial. It aims to stop people using the bill for "vexatious" claims, allowing the courts to "vet" the viability of claims before high profile trials are held.

He fears that victims of human rights abuses abroad might use the powers given by the bill to sue foreign governments if the courts are unable to judge evidence available in the UK. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Turning to parliamentary approval of a final deal, Lord Lisvane says he is looking forward to the government's response to a point made by Lord Hope of Craighead yesterday. 

Lord Hope asked if further legislative authority from Parliament would be needed to approve the final deal or if a simple vote would be sufficient.

That will add a new dimension, suggests Lord Lisvane.

Looking ahead to the Great Repeal Bill, he says it would be ironic if, given the focus in the campaign on sovereignty, withdrawal resulted in the transfer of powers to the executive rather than Parliament.

The bill, which is yet to be published, would incorporate EU law into domestic law "wherever practical".